Makeup Basics : How to Get the Best "Smoke Eyes"

Makeup looks come and they go, but there is one that seems to have endured long beyond what might be considered a “fad” stage. It’s the smoky eyed look, and it’s still hot and popular, and if you can get it just right, get ready for some serious stares in your direction from this dramatic, sultry look.  

There are a variety of colors that you can achieve the smoke-eye look, but some of the more popular ones are deep purples, greys and blues, because they are conducive to the cool, night time look that you want to achieve.  I prefer to use a combination of deep, earthy blues and purples, but that is just my preference because I have brown  eyes, and blues and purples and violets help to really offset brown eyes.  

Whichever colors you end up choosing, you are going to need to pick a palette, perhaps even a pre-made palette, from a high quality cosmetic product company preferably, since the higher quality ones have more pigment in them, and therefore will last longer and require less layering to make a deep, dramatic color impression on your eyelids.  

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to spend a fortune, but you may have to go up a notch if you’re buying a typical drugstore brand of makeup, and many of them now are taking the cue that women want more pigment and high intensity in their eye makeup, so they’re making cosmetics that are more deeply pigmented. Since more pigment means it costs more for them to manufacture, then you will be paying a bit more for these types of cosmetics.  

Okay, so now you have your palette with, preferably, at least three colors, four is even better, because it gives you more options for flawless blending.  If you have three though, this is totally workable.  You should have a color for your brow bone, which would be the lightest color in the palette, so say if you have a blue palette, it may be a slightly metallic or shimmery white or off white.  You should also have a slightly darker color for you lid.  

Then you should have your darkest color in the palette for your crease of your eyelid, and then finally, you should have an in between color (meaning between the lid and crease color), for the corners of your eyelids, which would be right in the middle of your outer brow and your lower lash line if you closed your eyes.  

Another thing I highly recommend is to buy a high quality eyeshadow base, which is kind of like a foundation that you use only on your eyes, which not only helps anchor your eye color in place for hours on end, but it also increases the intensity of the color five fold.  If you add this to your makeup repertoire, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much longer your eye makeup wears, and how much more intense it looks.

You may also want to get either a white eye pencil or a very bright, shimmery white eyeshadow that you can use for highlighting.  Either one will work fine.  Ok, now we’re ready to begin your awesome smoky-eyed look!  Get ready to stop people in their tracks with this totally sultry, sex kitten look!

Start with your eyeshadow primer.  Sweep it on a with a  flat brush, or sponge, whichever you prefer, however, I personally recommend a flat brush to put this on.  Once dry, put your eyeshadow base on, which is the lightest color in your palette, from lid to brow.  This creates the basis for the darker colors to go on.

Next, you will put your second lightest color on, which will be a step darker than your lightest brow shade.   You will use this second lightest shade on just your eyelid.  Sweep it on with your flat brush, or with a smaller soft brush, or sponge, whichever you have developed a preference for.

Now is the time for your crease color, which is going to be the darkest color in your palette.  Sweep this on with a crease brush, which is a thinner brush than the brow brush, but it thick enough to cover the entire crease.  Next, put a small amount of the second darkest shade, the accent color, on the very outside of each corner of your eyes.  This will be a small mark, about the size of an eraser head on a pencil, on each corner of your eye.
Once this is done, you will take the crease brush, brush off the excess color from putting the crease color on, and swish it allover the entire eye, including the brow bone and eyelid.  This will create a more uniform look, making the separation of the colors less obvious, and blending them flawlessly together to make a more cohesive look.  

Now, take a deeply colored eyliner, perhaps a darker grey or a black one, and line the bottom of your eyes and the top to about three fourths of the corner of your eyelid, and blend it with a gentle sponge blender to create a smoky, less defined look.  After that is done, sweep on your mascara, concentrating on the outer lashes on the outside corners of the eyes.

Then, take the highlighter white color and put a tiny dab of it right at the corner of your inner eye, making it shimmer and offset the deep, smoky colors you have done the rest of your eyes with.  Voila, you  have a smoky eyed look. You are ready to go out and dance the night away, or go out on that date where you want to blow the guy away with your smoldering good looks and expertise in eye makeup application!